This invention relates to the creation of variations on the conventional dart board for playing of variations on darts such as those that resemble other existing games (cricket, billiards, pool, cards, dice, etc.), and to the design of electronic dart boards.
Various modified dart boards are known, where the dart games are modified to enhance the playing experience. For instance, Yancey (U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,866) discloses a dart board modified to play a simulated golf game where each wedge represents a different hole in a golf course, and the outer ring may be rotated so as to represent different courses, by varying the difficulty of various “holes”. Yancey also discloses that such a board may be played in computer simulation with a simulated electronic dart, and with the indicia on the outer ring changing to represent various courses.
In addition, Lee (U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,445) discloses an electronic dart board modified to play cricket, with an electronic scoring display and a number of game selection options, where the impact of a dart on the target area triggers an adjustment in the scoring display.
The one common feature that these electronic dart boards have is that the numerical values surrounding the target area remain static, i.e., the display arrangement is always the standard 20, 1, 18, 4, etc., going clockwise, where 20 is at the 12 o'clock position. Instead, these electronic boards are limited to keeping track of the score according to a variety of rules, and the number of possible games they can be configured to play is limited by the fixed numerals. Yancey discloses a board whose outer ring may be rotated to provide a variety of “courses” of a simulated golf game, but neither Yancey nor Lee disclose an electronic dart board upon which the indices are modifiable in order to play a variety of different games.
Various dart boards are also known which are modified to display dice or cards or billiards (Grottola, U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,703 and Barr, U.S. D397,367), though these indicia are not electronically displayed or made modifiable by electronic controls. Each of these inventions also features only one or two games with fixed or rotatable ring of target graphics, and does not provide for an electronic multifunctional dart board that can be reconfigured for a large number of games, or provide for an interactive game-play experience.
The present invention features a multifunctional electronic dart board with a digital target display ring (DTDR) surrounding the dartboard. The DTDR is capable of displaying graphical images associated with each target, where the graphic display matching up with each segment in the target area may be varied. The graphical image used is dependent on the configuration of the game selection and game options, as well as game events that occur during play. The dart board may be configured by the user to play a number of variations on a variety of dart games, not limited to dice, cards, billiards, cricket, and others. The dart board may also be reprogrammed to provide for new games and options available to the user without modifying the underlying electronics. The board provides for a unique playing experience, where the user is able to uniquely customize the game play experience and where the DTDR provides in-game sound and graphics that enhance the game playing experience.
The present invention is advantageous over the prior art because it provides the capacity to reconfigure the board to play any game that is adaptable to a dart board, including novel games. The present invention also provides a mechanism for altering the target graphics to display unique graphics, as programmed by the manufacturer, making it uniquely accessible to a variety of markets comprised of people who speak various languages. The pre-programmed game options, including target graphics, may be changed to allow different pre-programmed games depending on the games most popular in the local market. The present invention is also novel in that it allows for interactive changes in the target graphics, as well as the production of sound associated with target events, allowing for the user to enjoy a unique game-play experience, and for the board to be configured to provide unique games and styles of play that utilize these interactive events by changing the target graphics during gameplay.
Yancey (U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,866) also discloses an in silica computer simulated version of the golf game, which may be modified to display further variations in the indicia in order to represent a greater variety of simulated golf courses. As is clear from the text (Column 3, line 53-56) Yancey's computer simulation of a dart game is not substantially equivalent to an electronically controlled dart board, since it involves a simulated dart thrown at a simulated board. (For example, using a Wii controller to emulate a dart throwing motion towards a computer monitor displaying a dartboard graphic.) Although, a computerized dart game may involve a processor core, a control bus, and a monitor that displays graphics, these electronics are standard to any personal computer or game system, and are below the level of the operating system and thus invisible to the software developer. These electronics are also specialized for personal computers and could not be interfaced directly to a physical electronic dart board without substantial accessories (such as an A/D converter). The use of a computer to simulate a dart game and modify graphics associated with the targets thus does not make obvious the use of an electronically controlled target display ring around a physical dart board, which physical darts are thrown at. Furthermore, the game play experience of a computer simulated dart game is generally considered inferior by dart players, due to the inability to accurately replicate the physical feel and weight of the dart or the physics of an actual dart's flight (for instance, eliminating finer aspects of control such as spin). Targeting skill in a simulated dart game is hence incapable of transferring to a physical dart board and vice versa. Thus, there remains a need in the market for a physical electronic dart board which can be reconfigured to play a multitude of games.